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French toast

Tomorrow-- May 29-- the people of France will be asked to ratify the constitution of the European Union. If they polls are accurate, they won't.

So suddenly, tomorrow night, when the votes are counted, the political leaders of Europe are going to realize that a cherished project is dead in the water. Americans, who pay attention to Europe only sporadically, will wonder what went wrong.

Here's the short version:

The proposed constitution is a 300-page document. It's not easy for an ordinary citizen to read it, let alone understand it. In effect, their national leaders are telling them: "Trust us!"

They won't.

Phil Lawler has been a Catholic journalist for more than 30 years. He has edited several Catholic magazines and written eight books. Founder of Catholic World News, he is the news director and lead analyst at CatholicCulture.org. See full bio.

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Or as Mark Steyn put it in today's Telegraph: "The American constitution begins with the words 'We, the people'. The starting point for the EU constitution is: 'We know better than the people.'"
It would appear that some of the people beg to differ...

Posted by: Gil125 -
May. 28, 2005 3:53 PM ET USA

But they may understand the principle behind it. If it is ratified, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands &c are no more. All Europeans will be governed by unelected bureaucrats and judges in Brussels. If their parliaments pass laws the EU doesn't like, they are out the window.
The EU has already told once-Great Britain that Britons are no longer free to spank their children.
France becomes, in effect, a province of the EU. As Arkansas is a state of the US. The people understand.

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